As in the
ruins of Beirut, Sarajevo or Stalingrad, it is a sniper's war;
men stalk their fellow man down telescopic sights, hunting a
glimpse of flesh, an eyeball peering from a crack, use lures and
decoys to draw their prey into giving themselves away.

Tomasevic also spent 18 days in Aleppo, 15 days on the
outskirts of Damascus, and five days in
al Qusaiyr the near Homs. He was kind enough to provide us
with some insights about the realities on the ground:

On being a photographer in a war zone:

"I’ve received excellent training on how to work in war
conditions and have extensive experience, having covered
conflicts all over the world for 22 years. I’ve become adept at
avoiding snipers and rifle fire but I dread mortar shells because
it is more difficult to predict where and when they will land.
While I can’t stay entirely out of danger, I’ve come to accept a
certain amount of risk, as all war photographers must, in order
to capture images of violence, pain and fear."

Reuters/Goran
Tomasevic

On the
rebels he spent his time with:

"I spent most
of my time with Free Syrian Army (FSA) fighters of the Sadik unit
of Tahrir Al Shams Brigade, following them into some very heavy
battles. Most of them were from a town near Damascus. They were
religious, very motivated, well organized, and were also helpful
and friendly to me."

Reuters/Goran
Tomasevic

On the makeup of the Free
Syrian Army:

"I think most of the FSA are defectors from the Syrian Army,
though I don’t have a good guess on the numbers."

On the radical Islamic frontline fighters of Jabhat
al-Nusra:

"I saw Jabhat al Nusra fighters a few times. The FSA told me they
had attacked a Syrian checkpoint several times while I was there.
I heard one of these attacks and it was very heavy fighting and
it went on for days. Even the local government-controlled media
said that they had lost 12 soldiers in two suicide attacks. I
could not cover them because I was warned that they don’t like
journalists. I hear from the FSA there are many Jabhat al Nusra
fighters in Damascus but I don’t know the exact numbers."

Reuters/Goran
Tomasevic

On the difference
between fighting in Aleppo and Damascus:

"In both Damascus and Aleppo it is classic, very dangerous, and
difficult urban warfare. In both places FSA rebels were
religious, very motivated and fought hard against the well
trained and well equipped Syrian Army. In both cities the Syrian
army used very accurate sniper and mortar fire. The key
difference I noticed was in Damascus the FSA was fighting much
closer to the Syrian Army than in Aleppo in August when I was
there. In Damascus sometimes I witnessed the FSA and the Syrian
army fighting within 5 to 10 meters of each other."

Reuters/Goran
Tomasevic

On Damascus:

"They were fighting room-to-room in most of the places I visited
in Damascus. And based on what I saw, I don’t expect big
movements in the frontline in Damascus."

On what could tip the battle there:

"I think the FSA could do more if they had more heavy weapons.
But unless this happens, I believe this conflict will carry on
for a long time."